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Monthly Archives: July 2018

Grammy-winning hard rock band HALESTORM and Atlantic/Roadrunner band IN THIS MOMENT announced today a third leg of their all-female fronted tour, with NEW YEARS DAY supporting.

The new dates begin November 16 in Norfolk, Virginia and run through December 16, wrapping in St. Petersburg, Florida

“You asked for it, and now you’re gonna get it,” said HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale. “I’m so excited to announce the third leg with my empowering, beautifully Vicious women! Three tours and we don’t show any signs of slowing! We are joined by our friends in IN THIS MOMENT and NEW YEARS DAY starting in November! Get your tickets now because you don’t want to miss this!”

“We are so beyond excited to be announcing the third leg of such an empowering and beautiful tour,” said Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT. “We knew after completing the first leg that this was something people were going to be paying attention to, and it felt strong, it felt powerful, and it felt liberating. I am so excited to see everybody at the upcoming shows!”

“Touring with Maria and Lzzy has been, by far, the best touring experience I’ve ever had,” said Ash Costello of NEW YEARS DAY. “I am lifted up and supported by the amazing women of this tour, and everyone feels as if they are family who are rooting for each other to kill it every single night. The positivity is incredible on a personal level. Not to mention, the shows are absolutely ferocious. I am honored to be on stage with these incredible women of metal and rock once again! And honestly, I hope there’s no end in sight!”

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, July 25 at 10:00 a.m. EST and end on Thursday, July 26 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “TRIPLETHREAT” to access tickets before the general public.

HALESTORM‘s fourth album, “Vicious”, will be released on July 27 via Atlantic.

Recorded last year at Nashville, Tennesse’s Rock Falcon recording studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz, “Vicious” is available for pre-order at all DSPs and streaming services.

Deluxe album packages are available for pre-order exclusively at the band’s official webstore, including the new album on standard vinyl, plus a limited-edition opaque purple colored double vinyl with enhanced cover art and bonus tracks, limited to 1500 units worldwide. Also exclusively available at the webstore are a limited edition t-shirt, dog tag necklace, autographed poster, and a free album cover magnet with physical album purchase while supplies last.

Raskulinecz is an acclaimed producer who has previously worked with RUSH, KORN, ALICE IN CHAINS and DEFTONES, in addition to having produced HALESTORM‘s third covers EP, “ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP”, which came out in January 2017.

IN THIS MOMENT‘s latest album, “Ritual”, was released in July 2017 via Atlantic/Roadrunner. The disc, which included the band’s eerie cover of Phil Collins‘s “In The Air Tonight”, was produced by IN THIS MOMENT‘s longtime collaborator — and multiple Grammy Award nominee — Kevin Churko (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, OZZY OSBOURNE).

IN THIS MOMENT is preparing to begin the songwriting process for its next studio album, tentatively due in 2019.

Wednesday 13, who mixes punk rock and metal with kitschy horror imagery and who is formerly one half of the MURDERDOLLS braintrust, will continue to support his highly successful “Condolences” release by embarking on a North American tour this fall. Several dates will include performances with legendary guitarist John 5 and shock-rocker DAVEY SUICIDE.

Comments WEDNESDAY 13: “We’re really excited to be hitting the road this fall. Doing the first week with John 5 should be nothing short of a monster show, and we’re super stoked. We’re also really excited to be touring Canada, as this will be our first time with this many dates. Looking forward to playing some new places and performing for all of our Canadian fans. We will be wrapping up the tour on the West Coast at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go right before we head to the studio to record the follow-up to ‘Condolences’. Looking forward to seeing everyone on tour!”

“Condolences” was released in June 2017 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The follow-up to 2015’s “Monsters Of The Universe” was produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who previously worked with Wednesday 13 and guitarist Roman Surman on the 2010 MURDERDOLLS album “Women & Children Last”. The artwork was created by Travis Smith (OPETH, KATATONIA, NEVERMORE).

Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of East Coast thrash metal veterans WHIPLASH.

Comments WHIPLASH‘s Tony Portaro: “My main influences were the West Coast thrash bands that Brian Slagel brought into the limelight in the early ’80s. Without them attracting my attention in the first place, I never would have written ‘Power And Pain’. And the fact that Metal Blade is still promoting old-school thrash and believing in me gives me the inspiration to continue creating my East Coast style of metal.”

WHIPLASH exploded on to the USA metal scene in 1984, branding the East Coast with its original thrash sound. Debuting their Roadrunner release “Power And Pain” at Ruthie’s Inn in Berkeley, California, they followed it with two additional releases: “Ticket To Mayhem” and “Insult To Injury”. From its East Coast thrash beginnings, WHIPLASH claimed its place in the metal archives.

As a New Jersey native, Portaro made his chops at New York clubs, including CBGB and L’Amour. Always attracting talent, Portaro led bandmembers through various incarnations of WHIPLASH, trying to realize the musical vision he heard in his head. Producing four more WHIPLASH records through 2009, WHIPLASH stamped their way around the globe, gaining thrash followers whose ranks still grow to this day.

WHIPLASH has recorded a new album, and in order to get a more old-school sound, Portaro opted to record to two-inch tape. Also, with the advice of renowned mastering engineer, Maor Appelbaum (FAITH NO MORE, HALFORD, ARMORED SAINT, SEPULTURA, CANDLEMASS, ANVIL, GOATWHORE), he chose to have the mix done by Phil Anderson, a longtime collaborator of Maor. Phil mixes on an analog board which should further benefit the project and push it in the direction Portaro is looking to reach.

Besides Portaro, WHIPLASH consists of bassist Dank Delong, who had been recruited by Portaro in 2010, and drummer Ron Lipnicki, whose thrash injection to WHIPLASH in 2018 would begin a new era for the band on Metal Blade. Hailing from New Jersey, Ron‘s drum skills need no introduction, coming off a 12-year run with OVERKILL, and before that, hitting it with HADES. With his precision guns firing, Lipnicki obliterates the kit while setting rapid-fire pace.

The follow-up to RED DRAGON CARTEL‘s eponymous 2014 debut, “Patina” will mark the group’s first release with drummer Phil Varone (SAIGON KICK, SKID ROW) and bassist Anthony Esposito. The band’s current lineup is rounded out by singer Darren James Smith.

RED DRAGON CARTEL‘s new album was recorded at Esposito‘s Obscenic Arts studio in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania and was reportedly mixed by legendary producer Max Norman, who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, SAVATAGE and LOUDNESS, among others.

Jake told That Just Happened last August that RED DRAGON CARTEL‘s upcoming album would contain “a wide variety of sounds and songs,” including some surprises.

“I’ve said this in interviews before and I really look like an asshole. [Laughs] But my end goal isn’t to please people,” he said. “And I suppose that is what an entertainer is supposed to do — give people what they want. That’s not why I do it, that’s not why I’ve ever done it. I do it for me. And it sounds selfish, but I think that’s… You have to be true to yourself.

“I make music that I wanna hear,” he continued. “I just hope other people like it also. If they don’t… [sighs] Oh, well. [Laughs] If they don’t, they don’t; they don’t have to buy it. But I do think that they should give it a listen. ‘Cause it’s interesting. We’re trying to stir things up a little bit. We’re not playing it safe and just doing exactly what people expect.”

Back in September 2015, RED DRAGON CARTEL was rejoined by Darren James Smith after a period of several months during which the band played shows with a number of other vocalists, including former JONES STREET frontman Shawn Crosby, Canadian singer Paul D’Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL), Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG) and Michael Beck.

Issued in January 2014, RED DRAGON CARTEL‘s debut CD sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 69 on The Billboard 200 chart.

GWAR and HATEBREED will join forces for the “Gore, Core, Metal And More” co-headlining tour this fall. Support will come from MISS MAY I, RINGWORM and AMERICAN SHARKS. These shows begin October 17 in Buffalo, New York and run through October 28 in Peoria, Iowa.

On October 29, GWAR will then kick off a headline run, that sees them stopping in New York City on Halloween and continuing their aural (not oral) devastation of the nation through November 19.

“This is the tour you can’t afford to miss,” says GWAR guitarist Pustulus Maximus. “We are bringing you the heaviest in hardcore and the most brutal of gore! We are thrilled to be slaying the nation alongside our brothers in HATEBREED.”

“Humans, come, witness the eviscerating, ear splitting majesty and power of GWAR and HATEBREED! Yes, demonstrate your ceaseless dedication to heavy fucking metal in the Pit of Death. There is a very good chance you won’t survive!” adds vocalist The Berserker Blothar.

“Autumn is a lovely time of year to team up with GWAR and crush every city in our path. There will be moshpits, blood, carnage, and chaos,” says HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta.

GWAR‘s latest album, “The Blood Of Gods”, was released last October via Metal Blade. The disc was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Ronan Chris “Lord God” Murphy and was made available in standard CD, 2LP colored vinyl and digital formats.

“The Blood of Gods” is nothing less than a sacred text chronicling the rise of humanity against their makers, and the massive battle between GWAR and the forces of all that is uptight and wrong with the world. Along the way, the band challenges the sins of their great mistake, from politics, pollution, and organized religion, to fast food, and factory farming. Humans are shown as what they are; a parasitic disease that must be eradicated before they suck the planet dry.

Florida death metal veterans CANNIBAL CORPSE will head back out on the road this winter for U.S. live takeover. The trek will run from November 2 through December 6, with support provided by HATE ETERNAL and HARM’S WAY.

CANNIBAL CORPSE‘s latest album, “Red Before Black”, was released last November via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2014’s “A Skeletal Domain” was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in Saint Petersburg, Florida with producer/engineer Erik Rutan (SOILENT GREEN, BELPHEGOR, HATE ETERNAL), who previously worked with CANNIBAL CORPSE on 2006’s “Kill”, 2009’s “Evisceration Plague” and 2012’s “Torture”.

CANNIBAL CORPSE drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz told Finland’s Metalliluola about “Red Before Black”: “I think it’s one of our best albums we’ve done — best collections of songs that we’ve put together here. I mean, we really worked very hard. Not that we’ve never worked hard before, of course, but for some reason, it just seemed like we worked a little extra hard. I know I did; I really wanted to take it to another level, if I could. I had really a sense of wanting to just do the best I can ever do, I guess, and I worked really hard — harder than I ever have, like I was just saying. So I’m really, really pleased with the album. I think the songs turned out great; I think they’re brutal, they’re catchy. We got a great guitar sound on the record. I’m really happy, actually.’

He continued: “We’re always happy for a release. We always try our hardest. It’s never been a thing of going through the motions with us, of course — we wouldn’t be here 30 years [later] on our 14th CD. But, like I said, just for some reason or another, this one just in particular, for me, I worked so hard and extra hard, and we worked hard together as a band to really craft these songs. And I think just from being around as long as we have, we’re just constantly trying to get better and becoming better songwriters and musicians and all that kind of thing. And I think it just happens with age — it should, in a sense. And you work hard and all that too, of course — everything. And that’s what’s kind of happening with us. I like to think that this album is a culmination of, you know, from the very beginning of CANNIBAL to, say, our 13th album, and then here you go, you’ve got the best of all that, and here’s ‘Red Before Black’, our best effort to date, I believe.”

This October/November, Polish black/death overlords BEHEMOTH will hit the road across North America to headline the “Ecclesia Diabolica America 2018 e.v.” tour. Featuring special guests AT THE GATES and WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, this is one show not to be missed!

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, July 18 at 10:00 a.m. local time and end on Thursday, July 19 at 10 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “BLABBER” to access tickets before the general public. (Check back here before Wednesday morning for individual ticketing links.)

BEHEMOTH singer, guitarist and mainman Nergal comments: “I hereby announce BEHEMOTH‘s triumphant return to the North American shores this fall. We will be in the noble company of AT THE GATES and WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, who will be supporting us on our 11th opus.

“Even though it’s only been a few moments since we played for you, our American legions, we cannot wait for this tour to start! It’s gonna be the first headlining run supporting new music and we are bringing all the artillery, which means the biggest production thus far! ‘Ecclesia Diabolica America 2018 e.v.’ arrives soon and we want you to celebrate this sonic pandemonium with us!”

AT THE GATES frontman Tomas Lindberg adds: “AT THE GATES have not done a support tour since 1996. When we got invited to this tour, we immediately saw the logic to the package. This is three bands with their own unique sound, three bands totally dedicated to finding the core of their art. Three important bands. It all made sense to us, and we are flattered to be part of this. I truly believe that this is the one tour not to miss this year. Get ready to drink from the night itself together with us.”

BEHEMOTH‘s long-awaited follow-up to 2014’s “The Satanist” album is tentatively due before the end of the year. The new disc was mixed by Matt Hyde, who has previously worked with SLAYER and HATEBREED, among others.

Back in January, Nergal stated about what fans can expect from the band’s next disc: “[2009’s] ‘Evangelion’ was the most perfectly recorded and perfect sounding record, but then ‘The Satanist’ was something else. The new one is going to be something else once again, I’m sure about it. So when people tell me, ‘You need to top ‘The Satanist’‘… I don’t need to top anything. I just want to make sure we take curves with our career. We’re gonna take a different direction in order not to get stuck in the same pattern.”